Bábolna, c. 1885. - 11 vintage photo prints (ca. 90 x 120 mm, but one 105 x 170 mm) on backing cardboard (20 x 25 cm). Highly uncommon photographs of Arabian horses (all individually captioned) at the famous Bábolna stud in Hungary, the principal stud for producing the best horses for the Austro-Hungarian military in the 19th century. The "Bábolna Nemzeti Ménesbirtok" (Bábolna National Stud) was founded by Emperor Joseph II in 1789. In 1816 it was decreed that henceforth only Arabian stallions should be used for stud service - a policy that raised the quality of the Austrian cavalry's horses to a famous level and necessitated the frequent introduction of new pure-bred Arabian stallions from the Middle East. One of the greatest commanders and stud-masters of Bábolna, Mihály Fadlallah el Hedad, hailed from Syria. - The photos show portraits of the horses Sechun, Nadir, Tahita, Nasira, Celeby, Dzerid, El Hafi, El Denedzi, Hiläl, Riat, as well as a larger group portrait showing several of the horses with their Arabian and Austro-Hungarian trainers. Some slight staining to backboards, but altogether well-preserved. Extremely rare. Less

Shinjuku Guntoden 66/73 / Shinjuku...

WATANABE, Katsumi

Tokyo: Bara-gahosha 1973 - First Edition. Small octavo. Either 500 or 1000 copies printed; reports differ, with half the copies lost to water... More

Tokyo: Bara-gahosha 1973 - First Edition. Small octavo. Either 500 or 1000 copies printed; reports differ, with half the copies lost to water damage. SIGNED by Watanabe in an early hand. A scrapbook of images of the denizens of Kabukicho, almost exclusively portraits, with little of the violent or blatantly sexual overtones noted in other major books covering similar subject matter. Watanabe earned a living taking these snapshots and then selling them to the individuals he had photographed. (Parr / Badger, v3, 221; Auer 570; Aperture 140-143). Beautiful fine copy in photo-illustrated wrappers; the best I have seen; extraordinarily rare in this condition, and signed. Less